A Rose's Prison
by NinaBinaBallerina
Summary: Tired of the old cliches of Draco and Ginny fanfics, want something out of the ordinary! Click on the button labeled A Rose's Prison and i'm sure you won't be dissapointed, taking you into a world that only existed in ur dreams.
1. Chapter 1

The Roses Prison

Ch.1

By: Girl Pan

A/N Hi everyone this is my first Harry Potter fic, it is more original than most stories out there and I hope you enjoy the works of my imagination. It is a Ginny Draco love story but it is not rosy or fluffy, on the contrary, it will be mainly dark with brief moments of sunlight. Many other combinations of characters will be made, but I'm not going to release that information yet. Well, enough babble from me…enjoy…

Summary: Alternate Universe! What if Harry Potter had been in protection at the ministry of magic at the time of Voldemort's attack? No one had stopped he-who-must-not-be-named, so he had taken over the world. Except a pocket of wizards that had miraculously evaded capture. The Weasley's, A now teenager Harry Potter, Sirius Black, an old Hogwarts schoolmaster named Dumbledore, and a fortunate muggle named Hermione were among the small throng of people. But how long will it be before the inevitable must happen…capture. Will love reign as a conqueror or will pride destroy?

**_"Tragedy can be the beginning of the greatest adventure"-me (haha)_**

The trees loomed overhead. They were tall, dark, and sinister. The ancient vegetation reached out for a victim with their spindly arms and branches.

There she was, a lone girl, a Weasley, waiting, for something or someone. Crouched on top the cliff amid the trees and brush, Ginny's eyes closed and then opened suddenly craving sleep but knowing that they couldn't have it. _How much longer…_was all she could think in her demure consciousness.

Ginny Weasley's breath caught in her throat. She heard a scream, voices, footsteps, and running. A brief smile crossed her lips before the emergency of the situation set in, someone had escaped. She knew Cho could do it.

Heaving the ropes unto her shoulder, and checking quickly to make sure that her flashlights, sword, and wand were in place, she crept slowly as to avoid detection toward the crevice in the cliff, Cho's only escape.

Now to find some kind of stronghold, groping blindly in the dark, her hands tried to make out the vague shapes, hoping with all her heart she didn't stubble unto a poisonous Webble. Shaped like rocks, one touch could kill you in an instant…if you were lucky. The only way to detect them was with light, but it was too risky to use a flashlight now, all could be lost. Both her and Cho would be caught, and most likely be feed to Cassandra, He-who-must-not-be-named's pet dragon. She shuddered.

No time to be thinking now was the time for action. Her hand brushed over a rather large rock that protruded from the earth, almost half a meter long and high, it felt rather sturdy. _It will just have to do…_ Ginny took her rope and tied it securely around the stone. She tugged roughly on the end making sure of its knot. Good…now where is Cho?

A low bird whistle signaled Cho's arrival below her. A brief sense of relief washed over her at her best friend's safety. Still, she wasn't safe yet, there was no time to dwell. Ginny lowered the rope hastily and quietly, she knew the Vipers were close behind her, and only quickness would save them.

She could hear the distant beat of the Viper's drums, signaling an escape of a prisoner; it vibrated through her soul, pounding fear into every movement. Two tugs on the rope, told Ginny that her friend was climbing up the crevice toward the top of the cliff. Hurry, was all that she could think…hurry, they are coming.

She could hear the distant scrape of feet against rock, getting closer; Ginny didn't risk looking over the edge, in case Viper's could see her skin reflected in the moonlight.

CRACK! Looking at the rope, dread and horror washed over her now rigid form, it was slowly unraveling and making light snapping noises. It looked ready to break instantly. A ball knotted in the bottom of her stomach and she felt like she would throw up any second.

For the first time in her life, she hit her knees and prayed, prayed for Cho, for the rope not to break, for this miserable world, for the hiding place to stay secret, for her 'family' to not be discovered. But somewhere deep inside her self, Ginny knew that it was all in vain. They would all be found and killed sooner or later, probably the former. Overcome with a new surge of hate for the whole Voldemort movement, she found strength to grab unto the end of the breaking rope, in case it did sever, she would be sure to hold up the weight.

A head popped over the edge of the cliff and the regular Ginny gushed back. She let go of the rope, knowing that all Cho would need was a helping hand to get over the ledge. Placing a firm grasp on Cho's arm, she yanked her up.

A snap was heard, and Ginny vomited as she looked at the…boy she had helped!

Ginny fainted, the last thing she knew was her best friend's scream as the viper's evil pounding drums beat faster as they found their prey. She felt calloused hands heave her up unto broad shoulders.

* * *

An hour later, Ginny groggily opened one eye and then another. She felt a dead weight in her stomach, and felt the taste of old puke in her mouth.

She had had a horrible nightmare. The shapes around her body were still unclear, and her head felt like it had been whacked with a bag of ice.

"Cho" she asked, knowing that she always slept right next to her?

The rough voice that answered jolted her out of her stupor. "Sorry, but my name is Colin, Cho helped me escape."

Nausea washed over her once again, and the familiar panic over ridded all other emotions. It wasn't a dream, it was all true, her friend, her life time buddy, was gone…maybe dead and there was no way for her to ever find out.

She wanted to break down, cry until all the water and salt were drained from her body, and lock herself up in a dark room for days. Her heart beat wildly, trying to keep up. Ginny just wished it would stop, all of it.

A light touch on her arm brought back reality. A thing she wished the person hadn't done. Small tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

His strong hands brushed them away as soon as they started rolling down her cheeks.

"I know it's hard, but please come together. I need to know how to get back to your hide out, for the sake of both our lives!"

Shaking her head, she buried the pain deep within her heart, the stranger, Colin, was right, there was no time. She could breakdown later.

Finally able to look at her surroundings, Ginny realized that they were up in a tree, and she was wrapped in the arms of the boy; the boy that she saved instead of Cho. A lump rose in her throat, but she pushed it back down, determined not to let it get to her. Besides, the warmth radiating from his body was, well…nice, as guilty as that made her feel.

The boy's voice broke the silence again, "I put us in the tree, because I knew that vipers don't look up, they are ground creatures." Ginny nodded her head in agreement, what he did was very smart.

Looking closer at Colin, she realized that he was no boy at all, but probably about 17, her age. His thick hair framed his face, curls evident even in the lack of moonlight. His features looked handsome, but even that wasn't sure, because it was vague with the blanket of darkness surrounding them.

"How far are we from the cliff?"

"Only about a mile east"

A sigh escaped her lips, at least he went the right direction, they wouldn't have to back track their way through the night. According to her calculations it would only take a couple of hours to return to the base. They better get started; in the morning the deatheaters would be there to investigate the capture. The Order would want to know this bit of information so they could give commands on whether to attack or not.

Even if the deatheaters were investigating her best friends capture… she pushed that thought out of her mind.

"We better get going", Ginny said while slipping down the broad thick branches of the tree, for being in total darkness, Colin was ingenious of picking the tree. Vipers, which were the lowest in Voldemort's army, did all his dirty work, like minor killings and captures. They were half human half snake, having no legs, slithering upright. Their upper half was human, except for the fact that they had two fangs protruding from nonexistent lips and a forked tongue. Ugly creatures! The only way to evade one, was to climb a tree or something high, their necks were too short to look up.

She reached the bottom and landed with a plunk. Seconds later she heard an identical sound to her left. Colin had landed.

They trudged though the darkness for what seemed like hours. She was sure by now that the vipers had contacted the deatheaters of the escape of Colin and Cho, and she had to keep moving, no matter how tired, emotionally drained, or sore she became, walking was the only way to survive.

Tears streaked her face, she tried to push away her feelings, but the liquid crystals spilled down her freckled cheeks. She wanted to know how Colin met Cho.

A few weeks before, Ginny and Cho were assigned to go undercover as Voldemaids, girls ranked lower than deatheaters (Deatheaters tend to be males, except in certain circumstances.) Their parents weren't too thrilled about the job, but they were both determined to do it. She remembered the look on Harry's face. His girlfriend, Cho, was going to act like a deatheater. They were actually going to tattoo the dark mark into Cho's arm, well magic one on anyways. Ginny was assigned to wait outside for her.

They were both excited, for this was their first major Order operation to participate in.

She was just supposed to get information, not release someone. Everything went wrong, poor Harry.

Silence was also a key source to evading capture, but there were questions that she desperately wanted to ask Colin. She was going to chance whispering, no matter what the cost.

"Why did Cho rescue you"? No use beating around the bush, why not just cut to the chase.

He didn't stop but kept walking, so Ginny walked as well. It took him a few minutes to answer, Ginny thought he just hadn't heard her, and she was about to repeat the question before he spoke, "I saw her out of the corner of my eye, I was behind bars. I thought she was my friend Ling Chang, who had been killed two years before, she looked exactly like her. I called out 'Ling', and Cho turned around with a shocked expression on her face. I didn't figure out why till later. A guard knocked me unconscious soon after for talking to a Voldemaid."

He didn't have to tell the reason for Cho's reaction; Ling was her little sister who had been captured several years before. Cho had held onto the belief that she was still alive, longer than anyone else, and was determined that one day she would rescue her. More sadness swept through her that the sweet cherub face of Ling was lost forever. She pushed it back down again.

Ginny gulped she had to get through this, "Go on".

The deep voice continued, "Well, she came back on pretenses that she had to beat me for my insolence, they believed her. It was the only way we could talk. She hits hard!" He chuckled lightly and Ginny smiled, what he said was true. "Anyways, I told her about her sister, and she told me about her hideout. I wasn't surprised that Albus Dumbledore hadn't been captured as of yet, I hear the guards talking about him sometimes. He's number one on The Lord's hit list.

Cho told me that she would help me escape. Well…you know the rest of the story." Even in the dark you could see the sympathetic look he was giving her. "She was a sweet and beautiful, the kindest person I ever met, besides Ling."

"I know", was all Ginny could muster without choking. Cho really did love her sister and would have done anything for her, even risking breaking a fellow prisoner out of bondage. Too bad Ling wasn't alive.

They walked that way for about an hour, uneventful and boring, only talking when necessary. The eyelids of both the escapees were drooping slightly with the lack of sleep and too much effort.

Ginny's brain was on full mode alert; this wasn't the first time she had been in the wild alone. No, all her life she has been living on the edge of fear, constantly on the run for her life. In her type of existence only the strong survive.

The Earth as everyone knew it was now being purged of its so called filthiness…muggles. How could people kill so viciously without guilt, it made her stomach turn with hate? Her family, the Weasleys, couldn't and wouldn't stand for the bigotry and ignorance of the pureblood witches; because of that they have been on the run for more than 18 years, before Ginny had ever been conceived.

Her life was Hell, but yet she knew no other way, it was just another day.

She trudged on, aware but yet not aware of ever consistently unchanging scenery.

"Ouch", her toe had caught on a sharp rock, and it had pushed itself on through the worn rubber of her ancient Nike tennis shoes, stubbing it pretty badly. She immediately sat down, tears threatening to spring. Ginny thought about how absolutely ridiculous the situation was, here she was running for her life and she had to stop because she stubbed a freaking toe.

"Are you ok", Colin's voice came from amid a blanket of grey and black.

A soft chuckle came to her lips, "Ya, I-".

Ginny stopped talking suddenly, an unexpected chill traveled through her body and down her spine. Hairs prickled on the back of her neck. Someone was watching them, whether through a crystal ball, or from behind the bushes she couldn't tell, but what she did know was that eyes were upon both of them. Her instincts hammered ferociously against her soul. Every muscle in her body was on command and vigilant.

Placing a finger upon her lips, showing Colin not to speak, though Ginny doubted he would anyways, she slowly stood up and drew her sword from its shaft. The metal caught the gleam of the moonlight and it flashed brightly contrasting with the darkness all around her being.

She took a stance, ready for any attack that could be thrown her way.

Now it was time for the wait, the severe nerve-racking moments before a battle when you meticulously count down the seconds.

"Colin get behind me!" Ginny whispered urgently. Time ticked by, there was no movement and no sound. "Colin…Colin are you there?" this time it was a little louder.

It was at that precise moment that Ginny realized that she was alone; Colin was gone. She was by herself, unaccompanied with the unknown monster in the dark wilderness.

* * *

While Ginny gazed paralyzed with fear into the darkness, Cho was going through quite a different predicament. Yet the fear was all the same. Fear for your friends, for your life, for the world… they all felt it.

Dread pounded through her young frail body as the vipers dragged her over the rough scrub of the forest. She was tired of it all, the fear, the hate, the worry, why wouldn't it stop. The world seemed to be spinning out of control.

Thoughts flew through her mind rapidly; she wasn't able to catch hold of entire notion without it escaping from her terrified grasp. Cho knew that the best thing would be to think up an escape plan, but what was the use, besides she was frozen, incapable to be creative.

Cho seemed to be accepting the fact that she might not live through the night, and that thought brought a plague of hopelessness.

A sharp stick scratched its way down her side, drawing blood. She clenched her teeth in pain trying to act brave.

The Viper's tongues licked the air, tasting the blood. The coppery scent excited them to a faster pace.

They were running now. The forest grew dense and wild. Rocks and brush proved more hazardous.

A large pointed rock lodged itself against Cho's skull and all went black.

A/N… I know it's short but Review Please!


	2. Hermione's Reminicense

Ch. 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters!

-The Reminiscence of Hermione-

The air was thick with horror, the very atmosphere seemed to be rejecting the presence of the vilest creature ever to walk or crawl upon the mound of dirt called Earth.

Hogwarts: the very school just 17 years ago that had housed students ready for a new semester of learning witchcraft and wizardry; now was desolate and barren.

The sky was blood red, and Hogwarts looked hauntingly menacing with its blackened brick. It stood isolated symbolizing all that was lost and tainted.

The castle that had once been brimming with students, now held many of the dreaded Death Eaters. Only the richest and most loyal were allowed to live with the Dark Lord himself.

A moat had recently been dug around the charred remains of Hogwarts. A river coursed through that was not water. It sloshed up and down revealing the liquid inside to be blood. Gruesome remains of traitors and muggles bobbed against the river's surface, revealing burnt and maggot eaten flesh. Legs and Arms floated still intact with the head, the lifeless eyes bored through to your soul.

The very sight of this atrocity would make any normal person's, muggle or not, stomach lurch in revulsion.

The ground around was barren, no grass no flowers; the woods to the back reached menacingly toward you, threatening horrible things if you should pass its boundaries.

Despair was all one could sense; a loss of hope never to be felt again. Dementors had nothing on this feeling.

Who could live in this place you ask?

If you traveled up the many ever-changing staircases and past the horrifying pictures of recent battles, legendary muggle murders, and pornography; you will come upon a stone gargoyle.

"_Desdemona"_, you would whisper in a hurried undertone, for if you were to visit the person inside, you would be crazy not to be terrified. For inside sitting on a mahogany chair in front of a roaring fire was the most powerful wizard in the world…the Dark Lord, he-who-must-not-be-named.

He sat, a sick smile plastered on his almost snake-like face. Every thing about him reeked of evil. A few strands of pale hair stuck out from his head creating an intimidating effect.

Many thoughts ran through his mind at once. One was a plan…it had been too long. Too long that Dumbledore had escaped his clutches. Enough of this meandering around with fake leads, this next man will be sure to know.

Screams echoed against the aging walls of the castle. The Dark Lord's smile grew wider.

The squeals and yells of the tortured man brought contentment to his corrupted and torn soul.

"Please", the screaming went, "I don't k-know a-anything".

"Quit your complaining and tell me", the slippery voice of Severus Snape snapped. (That's a good tongue twister, haha!)

"I swear I know nothing…look…I have kids, a family, please let me go!"

A slight chuckle was heard from the next room over where the torturing was taking place.

"Your lying", his voice was calm, almost pleased with the concept that he could continue his brutal beatings, "crucio".

The scream became full throated as he was thrown upon the ground withering in unknown pain.

The clunk of footsteps exited the room to his right and came toward the stone gargoyle, "_Desdemona", _he whispered.

The staircase winded up with a slight grating sound of the stone wearing against each other.

The Dark Lord frowned slightly. A figure entered. He was tall with oily black hair that hung in his face nearly hiding his piercing ebony eyes.

"My Lord", Snape said reverently, he looked back up but avoided making eye contact. No one made eye contact with the Dark Lord.

"Yes", Voldemort's voiced hissed, he was truly a snake.

"I've been at this for an hour, this man's mind was weak, he would have given up by now if he knew where Dumbledore was positioned. Forget it and let me kill me".

Voldemort sighed, resigning to defeat. He will find Dumbledore, but to find him he understood there would be a few dead ends. He waved his hand at Snape. He was sick of the greasy man's presence.

"Do as you wish".

A demented smile fell over Snape's face, yellow teeth protruded from his open mouth, as he bowed to his master and exited with a little hop of excitement.

"With pleasure", he chuckled in complete malevolence.

* * *

Hermione was worried, and that was not normal behavior for the intellectually calm young woman. Ginny and Cho had been gone nearly a week, two days past their deadlines. Cho was supposed to get the information about the southern location of Viper troops and learn how to brake through the security system, and leave before the search into Cho's past by the Death Eaters got too deep. The disguise they gave her was good, but not foolproof.

She bit her fingernails, while sitting quietly in the entertainment room. The television that Mr. Weasley had miraculously found one mission was showing an old western. The television could only play videos, since the muggle television stations had been deserted after the great purge of 'mudbloods' seventeen years ago.

Sometimes when missions were sent out, and the resistance ransacked houses for supplies they would stumble upon a couple of unbroken videotapes. So far, they had collected over a hundred movies of many kinds of variety.

Usually it was one of Hermione's favorite pastimes (besides reading of course), but today she could barely concentrate on anything, let alone some cheesy romance and action show.

She sighed but knew nothing would dissipate the ball of concern building in her belly. Something was wrong. She could sense it within her bones. Besides, why else would they be so off schedule.

But worrying wasn't helping her problem only intensifying it, she needed to find a different hobby, Hermione thought.

Having nothing else to do her mind flitted back to the past.

Giving into her memories, Hermione sat back among the few scattered cushions around her body and thought of the first time her and her mother had stumbled upon the presence of The Resistance.

This place saved their lives, and she felt horrible for all the other people from the non-pureblood heritage in the world. _We had no chance against the likes of Voldemort_, she thought with an angry resentment.

Her mother had been deathly ill. She had been three and too small to care for anybody. Her mom seemed a shadow of her former self, as they slipped in between abandoned buildings and shadows. They only traveled at night for any other time Vipers would prowl the streets for their next victims.

Hermione could barely remember the great raids of the past. Only glimpses from her memory in the pensive helped her sift through the dark haze surrounding her early years.

Her first memory, she was two, the images in her baby mind were still obscure, but legible enough for her to understand. Her father had been still alive. Flames licked at her crib and Hermione had been screaming in a rage of terror. Her beloved father, just a dark shadow, came and scooped her up in his warm inviting arms. They ran from the burning building from the back door as to avoid the Death Eaters in the streets. They hid in the cellar behind their house.

Hermione's next memory was just a few months later. The days in between the gap were cloudy and sometimes all she saw was a black blank. But what she did see chilled her bones down to the marrow. Shivers ran up her spine.

A loud bang sounded above the cellar where they had been living. Hermione only a baby had been confused and started crying relentlessly, her mother tried in vain to silence the wailing. A man clad in black swaying robes and a terrifying mask strutted in giving off an atmosphere of frosty air.

"Well well, what do we have here, a couple of mudbloods groveling under the dirt." He let off a laugh that was by no means friendly.

Pulling off the mask, he revealed a face that was pockmarked and had a thick jagged scar running down his cheekbone. The man was ugly, but he resonated unseen power.

"Only insects live beneath the Earth, and it's about time I squash you. After that I will kill the baby, no sense leaving offspring to reproduce."

She couldn't see her father's face, for his back was facing her crib and he was leaning back over Hermione as if to protect her. But it was no use, for in mere seconds, the detested words left his lips, "Avada Kedava"! Hermione's father was lifted into the air as a green light shot through his heart. He fell ungracefully unto the ground; his skull hit the cement with a dull crack.

When Hermione had watched that for the first time, her heart had stopped in pain and shock, and her mind was reeling with hate and revenge. She knew then that she wouldn't stop till she murdered the man with the pockmarked face.

But that wasn't the end of the memory.

The Death Eater was closing upon Hermione with an inhuman smile at what he had just done. She grabbed the crib walls, and with the fresh memory of her father's murder and the body below her, she gave off an ear-piercing scream.

The objects around her body floated up, and magic burst through the young child's veins. The Death Eater looked at the infant in front of him, surprised at the amount of magical energy being let out. Green flames erupted around her body, giving the walls surrounding her an eerie glow.

When he reached her crib the Death Eater did a strange thing, instead of killing her, he lowered his wand and picked her up.

"I've never known a baby with this much magic". He seemed to be muttering to himself.

"Hmm…I wonder if she truly is a muggle, her power nearly rivals that of the pureblood Draco. These muggles could have stolen her"

Hermione was frozen with panic in the arms of her captor. There was no way for escape.

But before the man could figure out the heritage of Hermione a loud bang erupted near Hermione's eardrum. The tight grip encircling the girl loosened and The Death Eater slid to the floor, unconscious but not dead. His breath labored against his rib cage.

Her mom's face stained with tears arose behind the Death Eater with a smoking gun in her hand.

Picking up Hermione, and fleeing the shelter, they escaped into the night.

That was all she could remember, except glimpses of forest as they hid and ran for cover. It was only by chance that they had come upon the shack situated in the middle of the woods, and entered to find a whole host of people.

Hermione sighed. It had been the same story for nearly all the members of the resistance.

Harry Potter had come to the Resistance by other means. His parents had given their baby to Dumbledore, knowing that he was the best source of protection. So did many other parents. About ten children came to the ministry that way.

When the ministry of magic finally fell, the muggle world didn't stand a chance.

Something happened to the Earth. Voldemort the most powerful wizard alive, created a curse that was bringing the two continents quickly together, to create a Pangaea that he could rule solely.

He set up monarchs on each continent that swiftly brought _everything_ under his power. The entire human race was at his disposal. Only pockets escaped his wrath. Muggles and pureblood traitors alike helped each other out and hid within caves and other obscure locations. Muggles were a dieing race, but not dead completely…Hermione smiled at that thought_. Lord_ Voldemort hadn't succeeded yet.

Many people had lived at the resistance, but only a few were here since birth, including Ginny.

The fresh thought of her friend brought on more pangs of worry, but this time she couldn't quell them, and just let the feeling rush over her.

_If Voldemort hurts Cho or Ginny in anyway, I will personally kill him myself. _

Turning her attention back to John Wayne, she tried to get lost in the movie to no avail.


	3. The Vampire & The Skeletal Mask

Chapter 3

The vampire & the skeletal mask

Ginny's gripped tightened around the hilt of her sword once more. She had been waiting for what seemed like hours, but in reality it had been probably mere minutes. Her view of time was warped while in the forest. Sweat beads formed in the palm of her hand making her grip slippery and unsure.

A break in the branches brought her neck snapping around, but it was nothing. The false alarms of the natural forest were giving her aches and making her terror ten times more intense. But for some reason she couldn't let her guard down, she would stand in this exact spot for the entire night if need be. Something was out there, Ginny could sense it…feel it, and no way would she be caught unaware.

"Ginny"! A voice whispered, hidden amidst the brush.

Ginny jumped, adrenaline pumping through her vigilant veins.

_Who was that…?_

The voice had been so wispy, so quiet, Ginny wasn't sure if it had been a figment of her imagination or reality. She was tired, she couldn't be assured if she should trust her senses or ignore them.

"Giiinnnyyy", the voice howled like a haunted spirit.

_There it was again!_

Suddenly it was if Ginny couldn't stand the pressure any longer, "Come out here and face me like a man…you coward."

A slight chuckle floated on the breeze. The voice was dreamy and dangerous as it spoke whispers, "But, my dear Weasley, I am not a man, therefore I don't have to prove to you anything."

The shock of something actually being there wore off quickly, and suddenly she realized what a dangerous predicament she had been fatedly placed in. Her hair prickled with slight excitement and nervousness of the approaching evil.

How did she know it was evil you ask? It was like an instinct, a feeling at the very pit of her stomach, she could sense the maliciousness of the creature tainting the mass of forest around her, and the faint smell of blood wafting on the wind. The beast in the brush before her was death…Ginny just knew. That was why a dread piled up in her stomach not just for herself, but also for Colin, who, at the moment was God knows where.

"Wouldn't you want a fair fight? Would you want to be considered a creature who takes a girl's life from the shadows?" Ginny asked wittingly. She knew that if she played with his ego a little she might have a slight chance of survival.

"Ah Beautiful, I am everything but fair. Besides who said I was going to kill you."

Ginny's breath caught in her throat_. What, not going to kill me…then what is he going to do?_ She steadied her mind and body quickly, she felt faint.

"Then what do you plan to do with me?"

A slight chuckle was her answer.

Terror vibrated her being, every muscle every cell was seething in a frozen panic.

Then, as if by a twist of fate, all fear left her body. Ginny felt weightless and happy for the first time that she could remember. Besides if the creature said he wasn't going to kill her than what did she have to worry about?

Her head felt light and fuzzy, as if she had had too much fire whiskey that night. Something was wrong, her mind was screaming at her to stay focused, but there was another part of her soul that was coming forth. It was telling Ginny to stay calm and collected, nothing bad was going to happen, nothing was going to hurt her.

"I feel all wrong", Ginny called out into the darkness.

"Oh, but my dear, I would have to say that everything is going perfectly to plan. Now sit down, you must be dreadfully tired."

All thought all reason vanished from her mind. It was if the voice was a puppeteer and by just a slight command Ginny was soft putty in his hands. Everything he said, she had to do. Not consciously, by this point Ginny was feeling woozy, and could barley comprehend where she was at the moment, though she had traveled this forest thousands of times.

Loosening her vice-like grip upon the saber in her hand, she slid quickly to the rough forest floor. The stickers from the brush were sticking into her thighs and the rocks jutted up against her soft pale skin.

A sinister figure stepped out from the darkness of the trees into the small sliver of land illuminated by the colorless moonlight.

A cloak was draped across his shoulders, hiding everything from view except two black gleaming wings that projected from the crevice of the creature's back. The wings reminded her of a bat.

Ginny's eyes glazed over at the sight of him. The hooded figure raised his head slightly, showing his radiant fanged teeth jutting over his bottom lip. He began to move closer, stealthily slow, never releasing Ginny from his gaze holding her in a trance.

"Now my dear, don't move, this will only hurt for a bit and then all pain will float away…you will be immortal and live forever by my side as queen of the forest."

His voice was slick like honey but as poisonous as venom.

A branch snapped beneath the leather of his boots and his concentration slipped vaguely. In that brief moment Ginny found her voice again.

"What if I don't want to be immortal or a queen," she whispered barley audible.

He hissed darkly and silently cursed, "Hush my flaming beauty; you don't know what you say. You have no idea how much I want you, how much I've always wanted you. I've watched you for years now, through all your dangers; your courage captured me. Now it's time for me to capture what's mine. What I've longed for."

He moved quickly and kneeled next to her now that he was close enough to his destination. He grabbed Ginny's hands and wound them tightly with a golden cord.

Placing his hands upon her forehead he muttered a spell, "Now…awake!"

Immediately the glaze fell from her eyes and all the knowledge he had just spoken sank into her mind. A horror filled her eyes. She was about to be bitten by a vampire.

Ginny struggled against the cords that held her bound but found it to be useless…they were magical. She tried to wiggle away but found her limbs were dead to motion.

Now instead of being Indian-style upon the ground she found she wasn't sitting but kneeling eye to eye with the monster.

"Show your face", she spat venomously.

He paid no heed to her animosity and quickly slipped the hood from his face delicately.

She gasped in shock. He wasn't ugly but surprisingly gorgeous. His ghostly skin contrasted sharply with his curly black ringlets and piercing black eyes, there was no pupil. His features were robust and rugged, and Ginny found herself undeniably attracted.

But looks can be deceptive, and Ginny understood that. She knew that his appearance was dangerous; he was an evil ancient beauty. To get out alive she must learn to be misleading as well. A smile graced her lips as a plan formed in her mind.

His fingers touched her cheek and trailed themselves down her throat to the hem of the wispy material on her shirt. He moved her shirt down her shoulder in a sensual movement leaving her bare creamy flesh open to the night air.

He bared his fangs and growled low. Hungrily he licked his lips. He tilted her head and Ginny closed her eyes praying for valor…for strength.

He moved in. His fangs touched her jugular and nipped at her soft skin lightly ready for the bite.

"Wait", Ginny yelled breathlessly. The vampire looked at her curiously.

"Ye-", before the vampire had time to respond she cut him off suddenly with a fierce kiss.

Slowly he regained his mind set and kissed her back with his own wildness.

He waved his hands around the golden cords that bound her. As soon as they vanished Ginny stopped the kiss and looked at him with sweetness.

He smirked wickedly…then everything went black.

His body hit the floor with a light thump and a crackling of leaves.

Ginny was breathing hard, holding a bloody pointed rock in the palm of her hand.

She knew he wouldn't be out for long. A rock couldn't kill a vampire, nothing could. She had to get out of there quickly…before he regained consciousness.

Picking up her saber she sprinted into the darkness.

* * *

Cho was thrown roughly into the cell, with no regard to how injured she was from the vicious journey. Blood was still seeping from her tangled hair. A rough scab was forming over the wound. It was apparent that they weren't going to treat her. Why would they use magic upon slaves?

It didn't matter, either way she had been through worse. She smiled as she thought back to the time that Harry nursed her back to health after a major viper attack. He was attentive and gentle, his emerald eyes almost glowing in the bare light of the hiding grounds.

That had been their first kiss. It was awkward, but it was a memory that Cho would never forget.

She sighed. The weight of the world seemed to be lifted off her shoulders at the thought of her beloved.

Too bad she would probably never see him again. That thought brought tears too her eyes…and Ginny, oh poor Ginny, out there all alone, and with no one to talk to. She wondered if she and Colin had made it through the night alive.

More tears welled up in the glands near the corners of her eyes and spilt down her tender cheeks as the worry built to be unbearable.

She sat there wallowing in her sorrow for a couple of minutes before she got a grip on her emotions and realized that she was still alive and had a chance for survival if she just kept her head.

She was stumped in silence trying to formulate a plan for escape in her mind.

An idea popped into her wits suddenly and a self satisfied smirk graced her lips.

Cho got on her hands and knees and crawled as stealthily as she could without putting herself in positions of too much pain. Her goal was to find something defective about the door, the room, anything. No matter how much magic or thought is put into an object, there is always at least one fixation, however minor, that can lead to a loophole in a system.

She felt the rocky walls all around the edges, groping it in the tattered light. The rough edges sliced her fingers at some points, but she was determined. Grinning and bearing it she went on for what seemed like hours. Checking over and over the door, its hinges, the base rocks…everything.

Finally with a frown and a depressed sigh she stopped investigating and plopped down on the single mat in the center of the cell. "It's no use", she whispered miserably, "the walls are fool-proof."

"That's just the way we intended them to be!" The voice came from the corner of the room, where the light didn't make contact.

Cho, who was startled and shaken, jumped. "Who are you?" Her voice reeked of cowardice.

He stepped into the light and she gasped loudly in fright. There before her stood the most feared minion of Voldemort's army…Draco Malfoy!

"I think the question should be 'who are you'"! Draco snickered lightly, his shoulder-length platinum hair falling into silver eyes.

Ginny ignored the question, and her voice came out in a high squeak. "What do you want with me?"

Though she may have seemed brave during the whole Voldemaid thing, the Viper attack, and the attempted escape, the very image of Draco sent tremors through her body.

"Well ….I'd like you to answer a few questions. We know you have to be hiding somewhere, and working for some one, the question is who and where? We found out about your Voldemaid deception. Now be a good girl and tell me what I want. Only powerful magic could make a fake dark mark. The question is…who's magic." An evil almost satanic smirk pulled the edges of his mouth.

Cho looked on with obvious fear, but her resolve was final, she wasn't going to tell this twit anything. She knew what Draco was after, what everybody was after….Dumbledore! She loved the old man. He was gentle and kind, rarely lost his patience, and would rather die than betray one of his friends. Cho was going to follow his example and keep a secret a secret.

"What if I'm not willing to cooperate", she answered smartly.

Draco lunged forward quickly and smacked Cho across her already bruised and bloody cheek. She recoiled in pain, crying out as if it would change things. Tears dripped from her eyes. She tried to hold them back, act bravely, but they oozed none the less.

He looked at her with disgust, "then I'll just make sure that you do."

Draco straightened his back and looked down his nose at the crying girl. "It will save you a lot of pain if you just give in now; unfortunately for you I am skilled in the art of torture."

Cho sat in silence, her cheek throbbing. She wouldn't tell. No one could make her.

"So you think your tongue will stay still?" Draco's sneer matched his smirk. Something evil was brewing in the mechanics of his brain. Reaching into his long black robes he pulled out a pointed stick.

Cho's brown eyes filled with terror. Like most people, she didn't fear actual death but the pain that it involves in the process. As much as she vowed inside herself that she wouldn't tell, she didn't know if she could stand up to the pain a wand could bestow upon a person.

The pain wasn't all physical, wizards could get demented, and do curses that could rip your soul out or scar your spirit. Those are the ones that really messed you up for life, the ones that leave you forever changed.

Draco could use dark arts upon Cho anytime. She was so vulnerable, wandless and the opposite sex. There were plenty potions too that would ultimately leave her feeling dead, even if she was alive.

All these thoughts flew through Cho's mind like a hurricane. She didn't know what to do, whether to scream or run, but she knew that neither of these things would save her from the fate she knew was her destiny.

She held a morbid choice in the palm of her hand, tell and be forever shamed, or stand up for what she believed in, but be tortured for it. The dilemma was awesome and frightening at the same time.

What would Ginny do, was the only thought Cho could hold onto. Her best friend wouldn't recoil with pain, like Cho so cowardly did. She frowned to herself, setting herself in determination. No…Ginny would fight with everything she had in her.

It was time to follow Ginny and Dumbledore's example. Draco could take away everything, even her soul, but Cho wouldn't let him sever her resolve.

She stood up from her crouched position near the wall and faced Draco with all the courage she could muster. Blood trickled down her cheek splattering on the floor in miniature puddles.

"Do your worst", she whispered forcefully.

Chocolate brown eyes clashed against metallic. Draco's seemed gleeful in enjoyment.

"With pleasure", he answered, his voice deep and guttural.

He pointed his wooden wand at her upper body and recited one powerful word, "Crucio"!

A blinding white light erupted from the tip and struck Cho dead on in the chest. She flew backward falling into the wall slowly sliding down the rough rocks to the cold bare floor.

Pain snapped at every nerve in her body, wounding around her joints and muscles, causing her to convulse and quiver pathetically upon the ground. Tears streamed down her face, dripping rhythmically against the floor mixing with her blood. Nothing in her mind was sane; she could only focus herself on the pain, the intenseness of it. The rest of the world swirled around her in an ugly array of sickening colors. Everything was but a vapor compared to her need for liberation.

And like a rushing wind it was all over, and she was left panting on the ground gasping for what little oxygen her tightened lungs could hold.

She couldn't think or conceive what was to happen next. Everything was skewed and out of focus, her eyesight was blurry and dazed, and shadows danced in the corners of her vision.

Something was different about her soul…all fear all worry vanished. The anxiety she built up whether she would break in the course of torture was released like a sparrow flying from a cage. She was almost happy, except for the still throbbing pain in the deep of her body. She didn't want to tell the hiding place, even as she lay withering on the floor. He would never make her inform him of anything and this time she was for certain.

She was strong in herself and she wanted to cry out to the world that she would not be controlled like some sick puppet. Cho sighed into the floor, a slight string of drool dripping from her lips. The muscles in her body continued to have slight spasms.

Draco pulled out a mask from within his black silk robes, and slid it across his face.

"I'll leave you with a proposition", he said between the slit in the mask for his mouth, "tell me everything you know and you will never have to experience the pain you did today, you will be free, and who knows you may one day gain a status of some importance; refuse and I will torture you till your death, I swear that I will put you through a existence worse than hell."

Cho wanted to respond. The words seemed to be on the edge of her tongue, but something wouldn't let it out. She bit her lip holding the tears that threatened to flow. Her soul felt free, but she knew she was held captive. She was helpless and no matter how hard she fought against the chains of captivity, she understood the reality that nothing would assist.

Draco's expression was hidden beneath the white skeletal mask, but his whole demeanor reeked of unseen power.

"Think about it", he purred. And like a phantom he was gone, disappearing just as hastily as he emerged.

All Cho could do at that point was pray. She didn't know if there really was a god, but in this position, she realized if anything could help it would be a higher deity. She was powerless, but maybe there was something out there…something that would take pity upon the wretched earth she lived upon.

Sleep draped itself around her body, wrapping her with dreams.


	4. Ginny's a hero & Voldie's evil

A/N Ginny and Draco WILL meet in the next chapter. Yes, this is a dark fic, I'm not the type of person to write of butterflies and flowers. I love to write of the intresting stuff, stuff that actually pertains to what our imagination flies to… I mean who can resist a dark romance. D/G won't be the only characters attracted to the person that they should not, just wait to read and find out

Ginny ran. She didn't look back, just sprinted for all she was worth. The farther away she got the better.

Ginny was beyond thought, everything she felt ran on pure adrenaline. Years of surviving the hardships of the forest, awoke a deep primal instinct. Her heart thumped wildly against her rib cage. The sound was an ancient melody, a tune forgotten by most, and only found by those who do not seek it.

Ginny's legs jumped, her feet collided against the ground, her ankles springing with the pressure. She was a gazelle, a deer, anything she wanted, and Ginny was enthralled.

Her legs slammed into a dark shape upon the ground, and with the speed and velocity she had been nearly flying at, the impact sent her sprawling out in a pile of dead leaves. The foliage crackled in her ear. She sat up slowly, still trying to get back her bearings.

A deep groan came from the mass on the ground. _That was human…_was all Ginny could ponder.

She got closer, her hands reached out into the darkness not knowing what she would find, or whether it would be hostile. But it was if she was drawn to it, her hands acted out on their own accord.

Her fingertips touched flesh, and the moan sounded again from the dark.

"Ginny?" The voice whispered, barely audible to the bare ear.

She knew that voice.

"Colin", she breathed in relief. "Are you ok…what happened?"

"I don't know". He sounded groggy and it was obvious that he was hurt somehow.

"I was right next to you and something pulled me out into the darkness…next thing I knew I was on the ground…and oh Ginny", his voice was terrified now, "It bit me! I tried to crawl away! Oh god, am I going to live…he left because he saw you, I just know he did…how did u escape the terror?"

"Shit Colin, don't think like that, I'm sure your going to live…although there may be some slight side affects. Don't worry about how I got away; let's just think of how we'll get out of this damn forest."

She tired to soothe him the best she could, but it was no use, she didn't know how to comfort someone that knew he had been bitten by a vampire.

But this was worse than a full bite, she realized as she examined the wound a little with her fingers. He only had one puncture hole, the vampire must have been distracted by someone else. The thought made her stomach turn. Even in the bare light of the forest, it was obvious that it was just a half bite. Meaning that he would not become full vampire, or die, but will always be tormented by _It_. During the dark of the full moon, when most good changes into evil and monsters lurk in the shadows of the night, he would himself become a blood thirsty vampire.

The very thought was enough to make even the most grounded and courageous man terrified.

Even though the new situation at hand was extremely pressing, the reality that a true vampire was just a half mile away and only slightly unconscious pushed Ginny to keep on going, in the wilderness you can't stop. She would have to drag Colin if it came down to it; they were both either going to survive or fall victim. Her friend's sacrifice would not be in vain.

A determination crossed her brow, and she lifted Colin's limp arm over her shoulder, using up all the strength she could muster. "I'm going to try and get us both out of here, but you're going to have to help me. Don't drag you feet, and try and step with me."

"I will", Colin answered back. His voice still sounded as if he was confused with what was happening around him. The loss of large amounts of blood probably was causing this reaction along with the bite.

They trudged along for miles, it seemed the trees never ended, but by this point Ginny knew exactly where she was going. She had been sent on countless missions throughout her short life. Her parents had protested to her deep involvement in the Order, but these were times of war and no child was safe.

Voldemort knew that Dumbledore was alive, and as long he did he would never stop looking. That was what made her work constantly dangerous and on edge.

She sighed and walked onward with a limp and slightly unconscious Colin hanging unto her shoulder for support.

She looked at Colin again, he was struggling and it looked as if he was breathing weakly, the air coming in and out of his lungs slowly. How was she supposed to explain this to her parents, to Dumbledore…to Harry? How was she going to tell them that she saved him instead of their beloved Cho? It was all too unbelievable and heartbreaking.

_Why am I thinking about this now?_

Setting her mind back to her aching body and heavy burden, she trudged along beside the ancient oak trees in silence. The sky lightened slowly, giving edge to the dawn of morning. The awakening of the Earth was around the corner.

* * *

Malfoy walked like a ghost amongst the dark hallways from the cellars to the original manor. Pictures lined the walls depicting the many ancestors before him, some sneered at him in disgust others cheerfully waved at him from beneath their vinyl cages.

His heart still thumped loudly against his rib cage from the adrenaline rush that only torture could bring a man. It was an almost deliriously sick joy that pervaded his soul, consuming him. Evil is dangerous, and danger has an allure.

His work had been a waste, she wasn't going to tell; he could sense it by the determination emanating from her doe brown eyes. The steely strength that sprang from her gaze made it a useless idea to push her further. But it was orders…and, he thought gleefully, there was a certain excitement that was derived from pushing people to their breaking point.

His fingers reached out to the cloth side paneling of the walls and trailed them down the rough texture, loving the tingling sensation created.

"Lord Draco"! Draco swung around mildly surprised by the voice, to find a young servant boy with a nervous expression on his face.

"What?" He answered, extremely annoyed.

"The Master has requested your presence in his chamber immediately."

Draco sighed, but decided to go at Voldemort's bidding. He wouldn't have to do this much longer if his plans go accordingly. A smirk graced his lips, hiding secrets that only he knew.

After punching the servant boy unconscious for the hell of it, he apparated instantly to Hogwarts, the chosen headquarters to the vilest presence on the Earth.

* * *

Ginny spotted the small shack of the Order in the distance and smiled in relief. Her back was aching under the extreme pressure and every fiber in her being was screaming for some much needed sleep. By now it was mid-morning and the birds chirped cheerfully in the trees. The gloom of the dense forest gave way to the brilliance of the morning and she found herself renewed by the fresh vigor and energy of daytime.

The last couple yards she nearly sprinted to her 'home'. Colin was significantly better and could almost walk on his own, was it not for a sprained ankle they had just noticed an hour before.

When they reached the humble establishment, a strange device appeared from behind a small window of the hut. Ginny smiled, this was muggle technology that Dumbledore had tweaked. It detected a visitor and would sound an alarm down below if it was someone unidentified or just a beep if it was an Order member.

"State your name and purpose", the ball exclaimed in a warning tone to a weary Colin.

"Calm down Charlie, he is a friend of mine", Ginny stated to the contraption.

'Charlie' obviously had some wizard induced intelligence, for it waited a minute before pronouncing, "Very well" and disappearing.

The door to the hut snapped open quickly, revealing a large living space, with many intricate hallways and rooms not seen.

Sitting at the many round tables in the room, was the entire Order eating their breakfast. At the signal beep from Charlie overhead all the occupants turned and stared in surprise at Ginny and her male companion.

"Ginny"! She heard her mother yell in happiness, and in just mere seconds she was smothered by hundreds of kisses from her maternal figure.

The others acted accordingly, but beyond the relief, she found confusion in their eyes.

This was the moment she had been dreading from the moment she helped Colin instead of Cho over the cliff face just the night before. God, it felt like an eternity ago.

The words weren't forming correctly in her mouth and under the stress she was in she fainted for the second time in under twenty-four hours.

* * *

Draco stood before the door of Voldemort's lavish chambers. He had turned the old headmaster's previous compartments and office space into his own board room. Staring at the familiar gargoyle, he smirked how ironic it was that he would have been taught beneath Dumbledore if Voldemort hadn't of ran him out.

Dumbledore was Voldemort's weakness. Draco was probably the only person who thought of it in that way. Why else would the Dark Lord adamantly search for the ancient headmaster? Voldemort was terrified of Dumbledore and his legendary power. Fear was weakness, and for that Draco hated him.

He was sick of being his puppet. It was time for a new power to come into control, something eviler and more ruthless. Someone that will wipe the muggle blood off the face of the Earth, not just hide them below in the salt mines or in dark prisons.

But for his plans to succeed, he will have to wait. Like a snake ready to pounce, swift and sure. He will have to be more cold-blooded than Voldemort and strike fear into the populace before anything could come into effect. He smiled, oh how he loved his work.

"_Desdemona_", he whispered to the stone figure before it slid open. If one thing stayed the same when he is the Dark Lord it would be the password into headquarters. It means 'of the devil' in Greek…very clever.

The room was dimly lit; reddish lights flickered in splotches around the room. A small fire was glowing amongst the logs. On a large black cushion chair with oak arm-rests and lion-footed legs, a dark hooded figure sat silent in contemplation. The only visible features not covered with shadows were bloody lips stuck on pale veined skin.

"Ah, Draco…how good it is to see you. Do tell me how your mother is faring." The voice was dripping with unseen venom, and Draco fought the urge to slap the ugly face. How dare he inquire about his mother, when he is the cause of what is slowly killing her, the murder of his father was taking its toll on poor Narcissa.

"I believe she's getting better." In actuality she was doing worse by the day. Sometimes she would skip food altogether others she would skip sleep. Either way Draco's mother was shutting down from the inside out.

"Good"! The glint in Voldemort's eye when he said this and the sickening way he shifted excitedly in his chair, explained exactly his intentions to his mother if she got well. Draco's fists clenched tightly. The mental picture created of his mother and this…creature together was almost beyond the point of vile.

Anger snapped his insides like a dragon.

Before Draco had time to react further, Voldemort continued his meeting. "I guess you wonder why I called you here." He didn't wait for a reaction; he meant it to be a rhetorical question. Draco's features were stony nonetheless.

"I'm going to tell you a story." Voldemort's voice got slick and throaty. "There once was a man who had all the power and all the glory in the world. He rose up like a lion and conquered every nation and culture. No person before him had accomplished such a feat as this. Many tried and many failed…until _this_ Lord."

Draco fought the itching urge to roll his eyes. It was obvious who this 'magnificent' person was.

"Now this Lord commanded respect from all his followers and most so enchanted by his power willing gave up their lives for his. However, a certain few dared defy him. They hid in the shadows and plotted."

At this, Draco gulped, slightly nervous. Maybe Voldemort had an intuition about his plans. Who could have known? He had told no one.

"Draco", Voldemort said sternly. The hood slipped slightly as he lifted his head to glare at Draco. Glowing Red eyes pierced their way through the darkness. "I want Dumbledore found and executed!"

Relief coated his insides, but he dare not show emotion upon his face. "We're trying my lord, every platoon is situated accordingly."

Voldemort rose shakily from his chair, "It's been seventeen years!"

Draco looked undaunted by his master's rising anger. "We have made many advancements, we recently found a girl who might have a connection with the old schoolmaster. I am in the process of questioning her for information. She won't last long, I'm sure of it."

Voldemort looked interested at the exposed secret of the girl. He evidently was oblivious to the confidentiality his men kept from him. Draco smirked in his mind at how 'Voldemort's army' obeyed his orders above the Dark Lord. It obviously disturbed Voldemort that nobody bothered to tell him of this vital information until now.

"A girl was found?"

"Yes".

Voldemort sat in silent contemplation for a couple of minutes before speaking of what he was to do. "I am going to grace the _girl_ with an unexpected visit from me; she will be greatly surprised won't she." A light smile twitched at his lips.

Turning to Draco, Voldemort spewed a deadly promise from his non-existent lips, "You will find Dumbledore before the next full moon or I will feed your mother to Cassandra."

Draco's insides seemed to flip and squeeze tightly together. He wanted to kill Voldemort now more than ever, slice his throat and tie his remains from the ceiling, every cell in his body urged to slaughter, but something deep within the confines of his mind held him back. That would be what Voldemort would want him to do. He enjoyed a challenge, and what more of a competition than his own commander of the army.

"That will be all", the Dark Lord established with a flick of his wrist.

Draco didn't want to go. What he really wanted to do was unleash all his anger and hatred upon the vile excuse of a being.

However, there was a time for that; and right now was not it. Voldemort would get what was inevitably coming to him, and Draco would be the one to unleash the power of death and torture upon him.

With that comforting thought, Draco excused himself with a slight stiff bow.

* * *

Ginny woke up in a bundle of soft, fluffy cushions, and a cold washrag placed upon her forehead. Looking around the dark room, she smiled with a deep- breathed sigh of relief. Finally, she was home.

Her eyes traveled with ease over all her meager yet precious belongings. A small trunk of clothing, all the items the Order managed to somehow steal or come across for their cause, and a few CD's with a compact disc that was bewitched to run forever without batteries. Most the CD's were outdated and scratched, but the music still gave the same effect to her girlish whims. Ginny's most prized possession, a stuffed unicorn worn with age colored a pure white, lay upside down upon the ground.

A smile twitched on Ginny's lips remembering the countless hours her and Cho had spent fantasizing about meeting one of the magnificent creatures when they were little. There was something about the innocence and exquisiteness of a unicorn that was enthralling to the mind.

Ginny unconsciously moved closer to her childhood friend that was strewn out upon the ground, as if it was just any other mere article of unimportance. Sitting up and walking to her trunk, she bent over and picked up the unicorn. Examining the animal a little closer, she realized that the pure white coat it once adorned was now slightly yellow with age. Sadness filled her at the slow decaying of the toy. It had once been a symbol of innocence and beauty to her childlike naivety, but was now tainted with the world's change. Much like her life, everything that touched her was spoiled with some type of filth.

Frowning, she gently placed her unicorn upon her luggage, and turned to slip back into the covers of her bed. However, before she completely reached her destination the door to her room creaked slowly open, drawing her gaze toward the door.

"Harry"! His vivid green eyes glowed brightly beneath ocular glasses, and a sad smile was positioned on his lips. Red rimmed his eyes and it was obvious that sleep hadn't been on his recent agenda. How long had she been out?

"I came to check on you, to see if you have woken up yet." He stared at her hard for a long time before noticing the tears still brimming Ginny's eyes, "don't blame yourself for Cho…it isn't your fault." Ginny realized the struggle it was for Harry to even say this. It is a natural instinct for any person in grief to blame someone, and it was a never-ending relief in her spirit that he _didn't_ blame her.

Before she had a chance to question he added, "Colin told us _everything_, even the encounter with the vampire", Ginny squirmed at this, "I still want to hear your side of the story, but not now."

"Thanks Harry"

They sat there in an awkward silence for a few moments. What can you say in times like these? Do you act as if nothing happened? As soon as Ginny thought that, she immediately rejected it. How could she even consider disgracing Cho's sacrifice by acting like it was in vain?

Harry seemed to notice the tension that settled because he silently moved and sat on the yellow tattered comforter that lay upon the bed. He sighed deeply, and stared at Ginny.

It was unbearably unnerving. Couldn't' he stare at the wall the floor, anything but her? Ginny was determined not to look his way, and doggedly kept her eyes on the unicorn.

"Colin told me he wants to get involved with the order." Harry stated obviously evading what he most desired to talk about…Cho.

"That's good", Ginny answered with as much sincerity she could muster in her spirit.

"How long have I been in this room?" Ginny anticipated the answer with an itching curiosity.

"A couple of days, Dumbledore enchanted your sleep so that you would rest long enough for your mind to recover completely from recent events." Harry said this last part as emphasis.

Dumbledore…Ginny thought. She hadn't realized until now how much she sacrificed and suffered because of that one man. Anger leaped freshly in her soul. How dare he send children out a mission that he knew they could die in, even though she and Cho would have been considered nearly adults in wizard terms, the thought still made the fire within her want to burst forth and burn everything in her path? Voldemort wants Dumbledore, if it wasn't for that, the troops scouting would be dramatically less numerical.

Even as Ginny thought this, she knew she should be ashamed. Dumbledore couldn't help what was happening in the world, if anything he was trying to stop it and turn back all those years of evil. But the grief of Cho's capture was overbearing and without warning, she cried into the old feather pillow adorning her bed. Muffled sobs escaped and she felt the strong hand of Harry rubbing small circles unto her heaving back.

"Don't cry…Cho wouldn't want to see us like this. She would slap you for acting this hysterical."

Ginny temporarily lifted her head to look into Harry's tear-stained face, her voice cracked with anguish, "I'm going to kill him"

Harry looked taken aback, "Kill who Ginny"?

A dark look passed over Ginny's features and her eyes narrowed accordingly, "Voldemort…and I will free Cho".

Harry looked at the stricken girl with worry; no way was he allowing her to go back to Lord Draco's mansion to get Cho. The situation was just too delicate. The order needed time to recollect its losses. Cho's sacrifice had not been in vain, if only Ginny could come to terms with that. As hard as it was for him and her, they both must realize that they might never see their beloved again. Colin had information that the Order only dreamed of collecting. The rescue would work to their favor. They didn't need someone else running off and getting captured or killed.

"You know I won't let you do that".

Ginny face looked crest fallen and her body slumped against him for comfort, "I know", she sighed, "I know".

* * *

Cho sat in silence. The air was musty in the old cell room and her body was still slightly sore from her previous couple of days.

Draco hadn't used any unforgivables against her since that first night…thankfully. But that didn't mean he wasn't cruel to her in other ways. One day he denied her food the next he would deny her water. Her throat became so sore and dry one day that when she tried to talk it felt like it would bleed from the strain. It was almost unbearable.

But the challenge set before her of her mind not breaking was enough to act like nothing bothered her. She was determined, and it was obvious that Draco knew that. Why he kept her alive was a mystery.

The situation wouldn't be so bad if she was let out occasionally. She hadn't seen sunlight in days, and the lack of it was slowly showing in her condition. On top of that, she reeked like a skunk from one of those muggle cartoons that Mr. Weasley sometimes played on the fellyvision…or was it television. She was seriously considering asking Draco if she could have a bath…or at least some charms that would give the illusion of clean.

A slight creak sounded in the corner of the room, but to Cho it was the loudest sound in the world. She hadn't heard noise for hours. Oh no…was all she could think…not him again.

Alas, a figure stepped out from the darkness. His face was covered with a white skull mask that looked hauntingly eerie against the ambiguous setting, and black silk robes billowed around his imposing structure.

"You know…it would be alright if you came without your mask once in awhile, it's not like I could tell anyone your identity, why you have to hide it when I know who you are is beyond me." Cho began nastily. Her confidence had dramatically increased since that first night of her capture.

The man's head cocked to the side as if surprised by her sudden audacity.

Her anger at her position bounded higher than her common sense at this slight action. Cho continued her rant, "Oh wait, I know what you're worried about…maybe you think I will escape one day and run around and tell everyone how ugly you look. Your eyes really are too big…you sort of remind me of a bug, maybe an ant for you aren't the tallest crayon in the box either. Draco Malfoy…" she turned up her nose as if his name was a spiteful thing to say, "Your parents must have been on crack when they named you."

Cho stopped her criticism when she realized that nothing she said was really having a giant effect on him. He didn't even try to hit her, which was what she originally thought his reaction would be.

The man in the mask just stared at her with a silent presence that choked her with its force. Slowly yet surely, he was moving toward her at a steady pace, one-step at a time, as if he was a robot or under the imperious curse.

"This isn't funny…"she began but was cut off when he stepped into her small circle of light that surrounded her mat, and stared down at her. He was close enough that she could reach out and touch the edge of his cloaks with her fingertips if that was her wish.

A frightening noise that was indescribable escaped through the small slits in the mask. Her heart nearly leapt out of her ribcage, and her breath was caught in her throat in fear.

She screamed bloody murder.

"Who are you"?

Without hesitance, the man pulled back his hood to reveal a creature that made Cho's blood run cold with terror and disgust.

His non-existent lips curled into what would be a smile on his snake-like face, and his red eyes gleamed with unseen power.

She tried to recoil, but something was holding her right in the path of the vilest being on Earth…Lord Voldemort.


	5. The Tiger & The Snake

-The Tiger and the Snake-

Ch.5

Blood streamed from Cho's mouth and the rest was spat up when she heaved what little lunch she had eaten upon the floor. Panting from the pain that was flowing freely throughout her entire person, she moaned into the ground after falling face first unto her mat subconsciously. The stench of evil reeked in the cramped cell.

"You foolish, stupid girl", Voldemort began rebuking, "If you would just give me the position of Dumbledore, I would gladly stop this torture. Just think… all the pain all the suffering would be gone. I would set you free of this prison and you could go as you please, just a location…anything". Voldemort was getting frustrated at the girl's insolence. He had kept up this torment for what seemed like hours, and it was getting him nowhere.

Staring at her through his red, cat-like eyes, he growled low in his throat. Voldemort was terrifying. He looked man, but not…something was off. He appeared half snake. But that wasn't it either. A demon was more the description that fit his pale skin that showed blue veins, which pumped blood with a steady pulse, and red eyes that bore through to your soul.

"Tell me"

Cho glared at him, though she couldn't move. That was enough for Voldemort to sneer at her for her final decision.

"It seems I will have to resort to other matters." He stated menacingly.

Voldemort knelt down and grabbed Cho roughly by the head, bringing her limp body up to his level. Her eyes were wide and crazy with fear, lolling in and out of focus. Placing his withered hand against her temples, he started chanting, "Fine inta corto loain xenon tam no…"

He continued for a long time; his eyes glazed over murkily. His long sharpened fingernails pressed into Cho's tender skin, making the tendons under the soft skin rip and tear letting blood drip freely down her cheekbones. He squeezed harder and harder as his chanting became wild, and his eyes turned a bright grey.

"I see", he said when he stopped chanting abruptly and his eyes turned back to their red glow.

A feral grin tugged against the line of red others took for lips.

Cho passed out from the horrors of the day, but Voldemort didn't give her another glance as he stalked out of the dark, damp cell away from the bedraggled girl.

He had just performed a powerful secret incantation that let you read the folds of the persons mind, and let you drift into their thoughts and memories; it was very dark, ancient magic that only the most learned wizards knew.

The location of Dumbledore had been unfolded in front of his greedy eyes.

Dumbledore's mine…he thought gleefully.

But one thing pressed against his psyche. A motif stood out in all of Cho's innermost secluded times, a gorgeous red haired girl…no it must have been an angel, smiled sweetly at him. He saw her grow from a child to a woman before his eyes. She glowed with a supernatural presence that emanated around her body like a shining aura.

Voldemort couldn't get her out of his head; it almost suffocated all other thoughts. He must find out who this beautiful existence was.

He could only guess that she was living in the Hiding Place, he could only hope.

Oh, this was a good day.

Dumbledore was his.

…and he found a delightful prospect of someone to bear his heir.

Voldemort chuckled evilly.

* * *

Ginny was doing superbly better, considering she had lost her best friend merely weeks before. She was eagerly eating everything in sight, gaining all the weight that she had recently lost on her trek and more… maybe too much, but I didn't matter, because for the first time since before the mission she was supremely happy.

And Ginny was gorgeous when she was healthy and happy. All the boys in the Hiding Place noticed the slight sway in her hips and her exotically bronzed skin as she walked past them. It was as if all the eyes were glued on her whether she wanted them to or not.

And who could not? With her fiery red mane that flowed down to her bellybutton in soft waves, tan skin, and drastically contrasting hazel eyes that held a spark of brilliant green hidden behind it, she was every male's fantasy.

All the boys wanted her, but none could. Ginny had a vow of abstinence, which she clung to desperately. Something about the young men didn't appeal to her. She was going to wait for her prince charming to come and sweep her off her feet.

More than that, most men didn't have the courage to ask her out or pursue her. With six brothers to boot, the male population could only wish and dream.

Harry stared at Ginny hard in the mess hall where they were eating their lunch in relative silence. His feelings clashed around her, and he hated it. He was supposed to love Cho, forever and for always, but looking at Ginny, he realized that he had always harbored feelings for her as well.

"What are we going to do today", she heard Ginny ask him, but Harry was too involved in his staring to give a damn.

"Earth to Harry", she continued. When he gave no notice of changing his demeanor, she conceded and went back to eating her turkey sandwich.

The door to one of the rooms swished open and he noticed Ginny's mood visibly lighten as Colin waltzed in.

Jealousy stirred his soul, as Harry noticed the blush creeping unto her cheeks. Colin was everything he wasn't: tall, athletic, great build, pearly white teeth, and brown hair that curled at the ends. If the contest was about looks, Harry would be at the losing end of the spectrum.

Colin immediately came and sat down by Ginny who spontaneously engaged him in conversation.

A rage filled Harry that he didn't know could exist within his spirit. How come she didn't get that glow around him, Harry couldn't help but wonder dejectedly.

"Hey", Ginny began with excitement, "How about we all go to the training rooms after lunch, I haven't worked out in ages."

"Sure" Colin said without hesitance.

"Fine", Harry said with less enthusiasm.

* * *

Voldemort levitated through the wilderness slowly coming closer and closer toward the Hideout. Hundreds of Vipers and most of his elite Deatheaters and Voldemaids trailed behind him ready to attack.

"Draco", he called to the blond merely a couple of feet behind him.

"Yes master", Draco answered in his subservient manner.

"I have a special mission for you…"

* * *

Ginny flipped in the air away from Harry's attack. She came down forcefully and swung her wooden stick suddenly at his mid-section. Harry missed it by mere inches, recoiling to the other side of the room.

Colin sat on the sidelines of the room along with Hermione and Ron.

The training room was circular with padding along the floor and wall in case of a fall. Every weapon imaginable was situated on the wall. Even wands were available, though Ginny preferred physical combat to wands any day.

Something more fulfilling came from knocking the shit out of someone to making them spit slugs.

Since she had been able to walk, Ginny had been versed in how to fight with any weapon and how to do most curses. After all, they did live in an age of survival of the fittest. Fighting must come naturally or they would be in great peril.

Ginny flung the right side of her stick at Harry furiously; he blocked it easily throwing his own stick up into the air.

To no ones surprise, Ginny had flourished exceedingly at martial arts.

They flew and struck at each other for what seemed like forever neither giving in, each took hits but the pain vanished with the excitement of the fight.

Finally Ginny grew the upper hand and flipped in the air her stick striking Harry forcefully in the arm.

"Ouch", he yelped in pain.

He dropped his stick involuntarily, it clattered to the ground resounding around the room with an air of finality.

"I win", Ginny said panting but not tired, her stick was still placed firmly upon his body.

"Only by chance", Harry pronounced playfully.

"Please, I beat you nearly every time, I think by now you must realize that I posses more skill than you could dream of."

Without thinking of his shattered pride, Harry smirked at Ginny's fiery spirit. God he loved her, if it wasn't for his loyalty to Cho, he would kiss her where she stood.

Shaking his head, he lightly chucked Ginny under the chin and rubbed his arm vigorously where a bruise could already be felt forming.

"I want a turn" she heard Colin say in the distance. But something else happened, something that pushed all other circumstances to the dumpster.

The red siren in the center of the room started flashing and gave off a loud squeal.

"Intruder, intruder…", Charlie's mechanical voice kept saying again and again.

Ginny's heart jumped in her throat as she grabbed a wand and a sword and latched it to her belt with urgency.

The ten other so odd people in the room were doing the same.

"All able bodied men and women report to the main dinning hall", she heard herself giving orders in a voice that wasn't keeping up with her brain, "All children find the safe house, Dumbledore will be there to assist your escape."

The two children that were in the room ran out the back exit to the safe house in a panic, while the other eight came with her to the front exit.

Only one rational thought could enter her mind, it was terrifying and real…_Voldemort has found us!

* * *

_

Draco scanned the room in front of him; there were about 50 witches and wizards in hiding fighting for their lives. The vipers rushed on their prey. The resistance gave a fierce challenge, but vipers easily outmaneuvered most of them.

The sickening sharp fangs that protruded from the vipers' mouth sliced into their throat spitting paralysis venom into their withering bodies. Voldemort didn't want any of them killed…yet.

Shaking his head forcefully his mind came back to his mission. His eyes scrutinized the witches present.

Lord Voldemort said she would be beautiful with vivid red hair…_ugh_…he thought before returning to his search. The way he described her she looked the antithesis of what he thought of as beauty.

Two double doors to his left flew open, jerking his head around he noticed another handful of resistance members flooding into the main fight. They were more equipped than the main batch with wands and swords as weapons.

His breath stopped in his throat as one last straggler came barging into the room. Her long wavy crimson hair swayed tantalizingly. All thought ceased and his heart pounded incessantly against his rib cage.

Her legs jumped and flew as she sliced her sword in and out of vipers. None could match her speed or ferocity it was as if she was a tiger, beautiful yet feral. Draco didn't even notice that his mouth hung slack in shock. Looking at the faces of his comrades, he noticed a similar expression of lust. A jealousy erupted within him as he realized who this gorgeous warrior was. _Voldemort is never going to have her_ he thought viciously, _neither will anyone else…I will make sure of that._

He now greatly enjoyed completing his mission. A smirk spread across his face as he approached the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

* * *

Ginny burst though the doors angrily. What she saw made her insides quiver with dread. The eating hall was literally packed to the brim with death eaters and vipers, she noticed a couple of voldemaids from the corner of her eyes, but not many. More of Voldemort's army just kept pouring in, never ceasing. The Order had no chance; at least Dumbledore was helping the children escape.

A viper came at her from her right and Ginny acted upon instinct by drawing her sword and flipping over him with a quick strong jump. She landed behind him and stuck her saber through his short fat neck. A sickening squish and purple blood emanated from the doomed creature. She hated killing but if duty calls, it was down to her life or theirs.

Another Viper came at her when the last fell and without a thought, she punched him straight in the pug nose. She smiled a little as he fell back slightly. That was something she had learned from Hermione. A smile slowly overtook her being, as she realized that this might be the last hour she would be alive. It was time to stop playing by the rules and to use every dirty trick in the book, and thanks to her older twin brothers, she knew plenty of them. They would regret the day they messed with Ginny Weasley.

She did a double flip and gave a sidekick to the face to a death eater unexpectedly who was fighting Harry next to her, knocking him out cold.

"Thanks", Harry gasped. It was obvious that he had been involved in a challenging battle and was extremely grateful for a short release. However, the relief was not long lasting for two vipers were almost under their noses. They both gave their shiny metal swords a sharp thrust upwards into the belly of the enemy, the point tore through their bodies resurfacing to the other side. Ginny twisted it out quickly and giving Harry a rapid hopeful smile, she turned and tried to make her way through the crowded room to find other family members.

She grabbed her sword tightly with her right hand and drew her wand with the other. If they thought, she was dangerous with a sword wait until they saw her with curses at her disposable. A specialty of her childhood had been creating new curses and hexes, and she intended to use her dirtiest.

Throwing her infamous bat-boogey hex at the nearest viper, she sliced another on her right with ease, spilling his guts. Purple goop slid from his mangled form, making the floor sticky and slippery. She made a disgusted face, but made no reaction as she would have. This was too dangerous of a time to be anything but indifferent.

The itch to challenge them with her wand became greater.

"_SINGEROUR", _Ginny bellowed with enthusiasm.

The Viper, who had been fighting a fellow Hiding Place member named Igor Barker, a portly middle-aged man, burst into blue flames. The flames extinguished but so did the Viper, with a poof, he vanished into nothingness.

Ginny smirked, that one had been one of her more ingenious displacement enchantments. The viper was probably now running through some forest miles away still bursting into different colors of flame.

Igor gave a grateful smile before returning to fighting more of the never-ending supply of Vipers.

Her face glanced right and saw her brother George deeply involved in a brutal fight with an elite death eater. She recalled his name from somewhere, but couldn't place it right away. Was it Crabbe? Yah that was it.

Both their wands lay broken beside them, and since George didn't have a sword with him he was left with his fists, which any normal person would be afraid of. But apparently, Crabbe, who was twice George's already impressive build, was not. George ducked swiftly as the death eater's fists swung wildly at his face and body.

Ginny looked away quickly for a Viper had grabbed her body from behind and she could feel the slight prick of fangs against her fleshy throat. She reacted quickly and pointed her wand with her free hand at his snake-like body.

"_STUPERFY"! _Her voice rang over the noise of battle and the curse hit him squarely. His body dropped swiftly with a loud thunk. _Serves him right_, Ginny thought, quite disturbed with the near account of fangs.

Ginny's heart jumped to her throat when her eyes trailed back to where George and Crabbe were engaged in battle. George was lying flat on his back nearly unconscious, a small pool of blood collected on the ground next to his body. Crabbe stood over him with a sword ready for the killing slice.

_Where'd he get that_, was all she think in her moment of panic. Fierceness took over her at the idea of her brother's impending death and a wild rage burst from her.

"You bastard", she screamed as she raced toward him. All time seemed to stop and her breath caught in her throat.

Before she knew it, Ginny had jumped on the shoulders of Crabbe and putting the sharp blade of her sword against his throat she yanked with all her strength. Blood squirted out everywhere covering her unconscious brother below her.

Ginny slid off his shoulders quickly as Crabbe fell face forward unto George, his throat bulging out of his slit neck. Ginny looked at her bloodstained hands and with horror realized that she had just killed her first man. The blood was red not purple. Her insides lurched and she felt like vomiting. Maybe the worst part was is that she felt no remorse. Not even a hint. _Is this what the world has come to_, Ginny thought with silent despair as the war still waged around her, _that even the good side could kill without feeling guilt. _She was disgusted with herself.

"Ah, he would have been ashamed if he knew that he had just been slaughtered by a mere woman", a silky voice stated behind her.

She turned around with curious indifference.

Her breath stopped in her throat. An almost angelic looking man stood before her. His platinum blond hair glowed like a halo around his head and piercing steel silver eyes gazed at her with an intensity that oddly held no emotion. She felt cold just staring at him. His bone structure looked as if the hands of Gods had carved it; even his height gave off the impression of unearthly intimidation. She had never seen a man more beautiful, imposing, and evil all in one.

She wanted to whimper in fear and draw back in a corner, for she realized who this man was, the right hand to the devil himself, Draco Malfoy.

Even though she had seen his mansion, she never got a chance to glance at his surreal figure. Now that she had, she wanted to tear her eyes away from the sight of him, but couldn't unglue her eyes.

Coldness seeped from his very pores, and she felt like she would never be hopeful again. Is this how many felt before they died at the hands of this…monster, yes, monster. For as beautiful as he appeared to be, beauty can be deceiving. She knew for a fact that he had killed many, more than she could imagine.

Was he going to kill her? Ginny wanted to panic but her mind wouldn't let her.

_If I'm going to die, I'm going to die with honor. Not running and whimpering like a scared coward. I am going to hold my head up high and fight until the death. _

With her mind made up, she glared at him, a glare worthy of Mrs. Weasley when Fred and George misbehaved.

"Bet you will too when I slice your throat as well", Ginny spit out with venom in her voice.

Draco chuckled lightly. He wasn't about to be intimidated by a little girl.

"We'll see." Staring at her a little longer, he said with suggestiveness. "How about we forget the fighting and you come back to my mansion with me?"

She looked at him incredulously, did he really expect her to just go with him without a fight. Did he think she was a slut or just plain stupid? Either way it made the anger inside her leap. He was by all degrees the most handsome man that Ginny had ever laid eyes on, but she wasn't that love struck. Maybe he was used to getting his way with girls, Ginny mused, and taking one look at his luscious body, she didn't doubt it. However, he'll learn, Ginny is not like most girls.

"Ha, you overestimate yourself and you underestimate me, not a good combination."

"Good…the lady has spunk, I like it. Very well, if you insist, we'll fight." Taking one look at the blood dripping from her skin and sword he added, "I guess we'll fight the old fashioned way, you seem to prefer that."

Ginny's smirk mirrored Draco's own, oh how right he was.

"Are you sure you want to do this", Ginny asked.

"Positive!"

And with that, they were off. Swords clanging rapidly as the intensity of the fight grew. The entire room stopped whatever fight they were in to stare at the two figures battling in the center of the room.

It was beautiful as they danced to their own tune of war. Both didn't notice the attention their fight was drawing from around the room, for both sets of eyes were locked on each other, one a steely cold the other warm with passion and fierceness.

Power wildly sparked from the scene.

Ginny looked like a tiger in a wild jungle, and Draco looked like a giant snake ready to strike. Both deadly when provoked and neither scared of the other.

The swords gave off a steady melody of age-old music as they reverberated against each other.

Draco was in a state of shock at how good the crimson haired beauty was with the sword. Every stroke against her was blocked with grace, and he had to switch quickly to the defense as she stabbed at his torso missing him by inches. She had obviously been well trained. But never the less, he was better.

With that thought, he faked a strike at her left except slyly came around to her right. But once again, Draco had underestimated the skill of the warrior in front of him, for she flipped over him and landed behind him, her sword poking into his back.

"I win", Ginny, stated with slight animosity.

"Then why don't you kill me", Draco asked her with a smile upon his features.

He waited a moment and when she didn't answer, he sharply turned to face her.

Ginny was panting slightly; a hint of pink tinged her cheeks from the exertion. Draco couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked when her hair was a mess and sweat glistened on her body. He could only imagine such a woman in bed. His perverse thoughts brought a smirk to his face.

The girl wouldn't kill him and he knew it. Even though he had seen her slice his comrades throat mere minutes before, Draco understood that she was innocent. He could tell by that slight panicked look in her eye and the fear unhidden by the scrunch of her face.

Innocence was rare these days. When he looked at the crimson goddess before him, he realized that she was something he had never been…pure. In that instant, he hated the girl. He wanted to break her, crush the purity from her being.

He snarled low.

A pitiful Ginny glared into Draco's eyes with childish frustration as she realized that she couldn't kill the man before her. She couldn't see someone's face as she murdered them. It was ethically impossible, and she grasped with despair, Draco knew it. She could tell by that self-satisfied smirk on his wretchedly gorgeous face.

"Don't think I won't", she said trying to act menacing, but they both knew that it was an empty threat.

"My darling", he stated in his refined eloquent voice that was sickeningly smooth, "I don't believe you could kill me even if you wanted to."

A look of defeat passed over her eyes, but she stayed her sword at him, now poking dangerously against his stomach.

"Shut up", she nearly screamed! Her frustration at herself was peaking. _Just do it, just kill him, if you don't then he will kill you. Kill or be killed, that's the way of the world_, she thought viciously. "I'm the one with the advantage right now. Don't try to talk your way out of it. I'm the one with the sword that is sticking in your torso, not you. One more word, just one more word, and I will spill your disgusting guts upon the floor!"

"Then do it, kill me…I dare you". The challenge floated in the air, but she found that she couldn't do it no matter how much she wanted to. Her hand was frozen.

Draco's steely eyes flashed with victory, stepping around the now shaking sword, he wretched it from Ginny's grasp. "Children shouldn't play with such things".

Ginny wanted to hit him, like Hermione had taught her. The idea was appealing; she closed her eyes for a moment, envisioning what it would feel like to do it.

CLUNK, Ginny opened her tightly shuteyes and with horror realized that she had just done exactly what her subconscious had been dieing to do. Her knuckles throbbed in pain.

Draco recoiled in surprise and slight pain. His right eye pounded and by instinct, he grabbed for the spitfire. However, she was agile and dodged his hands, running the opposite direction into the crowd.

"Damn", he hissed under his breath.

Most the fighting resumed as normal around the room. The dark side was prevailing. Many of the occupants of the Hiding Place either were paralyzed by the viper's venom or were already dead. Only handfuls were fighting including Harry Potter and his godfather Sirius Black. Many of the Weasleys were paralyzed. Mr. Weasley was still fighting, but both the twins were down along with Mrs. Weasley and Bill. Percy and Charlie were nowhere to be seen. Maybe they had fled with the children or worse dead somewhere else in the underground shelter. Ron was battling valiantly alongside Hermione. It was obvious it was only an amount of hours before the resistance was in control of the Dark Lord.

Voldemort had left the fight once he knew victory was near and returned to Hogwarts with many of his top elite Death Eaters. He also left because to his disappointment he couldn't find the old schoolmaster.

At least they wouldn't achieve their goal of capturing Dumbledore. The old yet powerful wizard thought his abilities would best serve the defenseless as they escaped.

Ginny didn't know any of this as she sprinted through the growing crowd of vipers and Death Eaters into the fresh air, it seemed no one could catch her at the moment, many of the enemy lunged at her, but she was just too quick.

She reached the chilled air outside. Charlie's mechanical form lay mangled in a jumble of metal parts.

_All I have to do is reach the forest_, she thought panic settling in about what she had just done. She may act calm but inside she was trembling, _what have I done, how could I have been so stupid! _The idea astounded her, she had just punched Draco Malfoy, probably the most deadly and feared wizard aside from the Dark Lord, and he had taken away her only weapon…_except_, she thought suddenly with relief, _my wand._ She stuck her head in her robes while still running searching for the elusive dark brown stick.

Just when she reached the edge of the trees, her only safety…SMACK…she ran straight into something rock solid.

"Looking for this"

Ginny fell back hard on her butt.

She looked up suddenly to see Draco holding her last resource gracefully in the air. She groaned loudly, as the realization of defeat sank in. A livid looking Draco glared at her through an already blackening eye.

"You bitch, you think you could just run away after hitting me, ha, your no match for me, I've been letting you win all this time, but this time you crossed the line."

Ginny looked meekly up from her humbled position toward the imposing figure of the handsome Malfoy. "I'm sorry", Ginny said before she realized what had just passed her lips.

"Not forgiven", Draco retorted malice nearly dripping from his tongue as he spoke. "Now it's off to the Dark Lord, he has special plans for you." An evil chuckle fell upon the helpless Ginny.

She froze while a fear she had never felt washed over her weary form…_what would Lord Voldemort want with me?_

Draco didn't wait to see her reaction and frankly didn't really want to. He scooped her up in his strong arms as she once again lost consciousness. The poor soul didn't realize what she was going to suffer.

Draco gazed at the peaceful yet troubled expression upon the exotic beauty in his arms with evil indifference.

Without another word, he traveled back to where his broom was leaning against a nearby tree, and put invisible charms around Ginny's arms and legs so she couldn't escape.

Grabbing the wand from out from under his robes, he went back into the frenzy of the dieing fight to paralyze the remaining victims. Many of the prisoners would die tonight, and Draco was gleeful to procure the traitors. First, was to figure out whom all was pureblood and who was muggle, there was no need to save dirty blood. Stunning the nearest resistance member a viper readily carried the body off outside to the growing pile of prisoners.

Facing a boy with messy dark hair and emerald eyes hid behind spectacles he fought viciously.

"Are you ready to give up", Draco taunted.

"Just as ready as you", the boy answered much to Draco's surprise.

Finally a challenge besides the girl, he thought.

"When I stun you I'll be sure to give you the worst cell in _my _mansion." Draco goaded the boy who was Harry.

"Well this is _my_ place, and I'll be damned if I'll let an unworthy spoiled brat stay here much longer."

Facing each other with wands at the ready for a final battle, the two glared at each other with unknown reasons for hate. For some reason it was as if he instinctively loathed this boy, like it was in his blood.

No matter, Draco thought with coolness, the entire rebellion would be inside the prisons by tonight.

The only problem that nagged at his mind was that Dumbledore wasn't here, he couldn't fail this time…failure just wasn't an option to Voldemort.

Out of Harry's wand came a green spark, but Draco was ready.

A/N...Review review review! Yay! DG Meet..finally!


End file.
